usflexiconfandomcom-20200214-history
Klicktic
Physiology Klicktics look like giant Terran ants. They are approximately 1.3 to 2 meters in height. They have a set of antenna, two sets of arms, a set of legs, and a set of pincers coming out of the mouth. On each arm there is a four digit hand (3 fingers and a thumb). They have no hair on their bodies. Eye color ranges from dark black to almost brown. Skin color ranges from brown to reddish-brown to red based on clan. Average lifespan is around 150 years. An unusual trait about the Klicktics is the occurrence of genders. Like many insect hives, males and females occur disproportionately. Roughly 98% of the population is nonfertile females. Of the remaining 2%, half are male and half are fertile female (known as queens). Queens are capable of laying between 25 and 35 eggs a day which are fertilized by males and hatch roughly 3 months later. Klicktics are capable of communciating with other klicktics through their antennae. By pressing the antennae together, two klicktics can instantaneously pass information and conversation. Some klicktic scientists have theorized that this is a simple or rudimentary form of touch telepathy, but these speculations are mostly unsubstantiated and the Klicktics do not consider themselves a telepathic species. The communication is limited, preventing the reading of thoughts and feelings other then those consciously shared. It is possible for a Klicktic to read and download memories from another klicktic, but the link is so strong, it can not be broken until one of the klicktics involved dies. Therefore, use of this form of linking is limited to the deathbed ritual of the Kilikat. Science and Technology Klicktics are a technologically advanced culture with technology levels equivalent to most Alpha Quadrant and Beta Quadrant species. They do not actively explore the galaxy. Instead, they use their technology to protect and develop their home system. They have a small defensive fleet comprised of moderately sized vessels. While being warp 9 capable for some time, Klicktic Defense Fleet vessels are limited in their speeds, with most ships incapable of passing warp 2 and the fastest only capable of warp 4. Society and Culture Klicktic society operates much like an ant colony, with each gender having specific roles and life being fairly highly regulated. Religion Klicktics do not worship a higher being or beings. They do however worship a state of complete order. This is based on the teachings of a 3000 year old philosopher named Tefak. Tefak's teachings on order and chaos revolutionized Klicktic society. Klicktics use the teachings in their quest for order, believing that one strives for order their entire life and that death is joining the ultimate order of the universe. Societal Structure Like an ant colony, each gender has its own roles. Queens handle all government, reproduction, and child rearing. Males handle reproduction and military/protection functions. Females handle all non-governmental roles and functions on the planet. Belief in the need for order in the society allows these strict roles to persist. The population is divided into 6 clans, based on blood type and skin color: *Klock (A+ Brown) *Fetack (A- Brown) *Katock (B+ Red) *Trukak (B- Red) *Ticktoc (O+ Reddish Brown) *Flectoc (O- Reddish Brown) Each clan is responsible for its own breeding and governing. Government The oldest breeding queen of each clan forms the Council of Queens. They make all laws and decisions that effect all the clans or the planet in general. The oldest breeding queen of each clan also serves as the leader of her clan. She makes all decisions that affect any or all of the clan. Other breeding queens who have past breeding age fill high governmental and advisory roles until such time as they assume their role as Queen of the clan. Reproduction Each clan has 100-200 actively breeding queens who lay the eggs and 10-50 breeding males who fertilize the eggs. The pool of breeding queens is fairly static, only replacing a member when that member gets too old to breed. The pool of breeding males rotates continuously to maintain the integrity of the gene pool. Each male serves a term of a month or two, then they are rotated out to fulfill their future roles in society. Post-breeding males and males deemed inappropriate for breeding make up the police force and the military of the planet. Everyday, each queen lays 25-35 eggs which are grouped together as familial groups. Each familial group is fertilized by the same male and are considered brothers/sisters. Each familial group is broken into a number of smaller groupings called familial broods, each of which is assigned a queen who was rejected for breeding as its caretaker. The caretaker raises the children and prepares them for their role in society. When a caretaker has finished raising the children, the caretaker moves on to low level or minor governmental roles. Each clan heavily regulates procreation in an effort to maintain clan purity as well as maintain population controls. At points in Klicktic history, lack of controls resulted in massive overpopulation. Presently, the controls maintain a population of roughly 2 billion klicktics. Hybridization Hybridization (breeding between clans) is the only crime punishable by death. When hybrid children are born, the father is found and executed. If the queen who laid the eggs is found culpable, she is also executed. All hybrid queens and males are sterilized, then all the hybrid children are exiled to the Hybrid Colony on the first moon of Klickta, Klickta I. These children are not allowed to come closer to the planet then the orbital radius of Klickta I. ((Prior to the establishment of the colony approx. 150 years ago, hybrid children were also executed.)) Hybrids are allowed to leave the moon and head out into the universe as they wish as long as they don't come close to Klickta. However, if they encounter non-hybrid klicktics, they can expect extreme prejudice towards them. It is even considered taboo by some klicktics to talk to or acknowledge a hybrid klicktic. Rececntly, powerful factions and even some ruling queens have called for the elimination of the colony and a return of the old ways. One group, known as the Krekakrelictok ("Death to the Ones who Bring Chaos to Order"), even tried to destroy the colony through terrorist means. They are currently considered dangerous and measures should be taken to guard against further terrorist strikes. Language For most exchange of information, klicktics use their antennae to communicate directly, quickly and easily with other klicktics. There is also a spoken language made up of clicks, clacks, whistles, and other similar sounds. It is extremely difficult for non-insectoid species to reproduce. Klicktics also have a written language that is so incomprehensible that no non-klicktic computer has been able to understand or translate it. It is described as a series of starbursts with hashmarks on various rays. The placement of the rays and the placement of the hashmarks rely different meanings. Unlike mosts species that have individual letters, words, or even sentences, each starburst represents a whole paragraph of ideas. Non-klicktics have been able to learn the written language even if they can't pronounce it. Nomenclature All Klicktics have three names. Each has its own role. The first name is the given name. It is fairly unique to each klicktic. The second name is the name of the father. It is shared by all klicktics fathered by the same male. The third name is the clan name. Since each clan makes up approximately one sixth of the population, the clan name is shared by a large number of klicktics. (Note: Hybrids are required to list both clan names as a hyphenated third name. The mother's clan is listed first.) * Example: A klicktic named Keltok Retick Flectoc is the child of Retick and a member of the Flectoc clan. Since the second and third names are so common, the proper address is to use the first name only. The klicktic in the example above would simply be addressed as Keltok. If a klicktic has a title, it is placed in front of the first name only. If the klicktic from the example has the title of Lieutenant, she would be called Lieutenant Keltok or Lieutenant Keltok Retick Flectoc. Referring to her as Lieutenant Flectoc would be very confusing since since one in six klicktics share that name. The one exection to this rule is when addressing the ruling queen of a clan. The proper address for the queen is to refer to her as Queen followed by her clan name. If the klicktic from the example above was the ruling queen of her clan, she'd be addressed as Queen Flectoc. History Klicktics are believed to have evolved around 15,000 years ago. Despite this reasonably short amount of time, they spread quickly throughout the planet due to their high reproduction rate and constant need for space and resources. By 7,000 years ago, there were cities established throughout the planet. By 4,000 years ago, nation-states had been established to compete for resources. Unlike the nations of other worlds, these nation states were established entirely around the family line of a breeding queen. Since the way to keep your nation strong was to have more children, there were little to no restrictions on breeding. At the same time, improvements in living conditions and medicines dramatically increased the survival rate of Klicktic children. By 3,000 years ago, the planets population was over 20 billion. Diseases were running rampant, starvation was common, and wars over resources were constant. The number of nation-states changed daily as invasions wiped out ruling families (cutting off nation-states ability to breed) and as new queens set out and started up new ones. Technology had stagnated, and the outlook looked grim. Tefak was born around this time. He renounced his role as a breeder for the Tkeknik nation-state on the northeastern continent of Kartrekik, instead becoming a philosopher. His main work, 'Reflections on Chaos and Order,' did not get much recognition in its time, but around 300 years after his death, the work as well as other writings had become well enough known that Order movements began in most nation-states on the planet. Tefak preached the ideas of controlled procreation, abolition of nation-states, the establishment of clans, and peaceful pursuit of orderly society. By 2,400 years ago, the movement had become a planet wide philosophy. A planetary government, the Tefak Council, was established to facilitate the changes. Clan establishment was debated for quite some time, ranging from as few as 4 clans to as many as 20. Finally, 8 clans were established based on blood type and skin color. The Klicktic genome originally had a third blood antigen, designated C, which allowed for the creation of the Detock (C+ brownish red) and Tetick (C- brownish red) clans. Each Klicktic was sorted in to the most appropriate clan, and controlled breeding began to reduce population level, equalize the clan numbers, and ensure the genetic purity of each clan would be properly maintained. By 2,000 years ago, the clans were well-established, the Tefak Council had been replaced by the Council of Queens, and the population of the planet had been reduced to 3.5 billion. 1,451 years ago, a disease broke out on the southern continent of Parkeskic. While the official name of the disease is Trieskeskak, it became more commonly knowns a the "yellow death" because of yellowish hue the infected's skin turned. The "yellow death" was highly infectious and had a 60% fatality rate. It swept through the continent faster then the authorities could manage it. Eventually, the entire continent was placed under quarantine, despite the fact that outbreaks had already occurred and were contained in population centers on two other continents. Luckily, a vaccine was finally found and the planetary population was vaccinated. Unfortunately the damage had been done. While all clans were affected and suffered losses, the clans of Detock and Tetick were hardest hit. All the queens in each clan had died, leaving nonfertile females and only a few males. Due to the restrictions on hybridization and the realization that the genetic purity would never be reestablished with such a small breeding population, the Council of Queens decided to let the clans die off. Sadly this also resulted for the loss of the Klicktic C antigen. 156 years ago, changes in the opinions toward hybridization caused the Council of Queens to establish the Hybrid Colony on Klicta I. Prior to that, all hybrid children were euthanized soon after birth. Feeling that this was inhumane, the new colony was build and populated by volunteers who raised the first generation of hybrids to take over control and maintenance of the colony. Despite changes in public opinion in recent years, the hybrid colony is still used, accepting the sets of hybrids that still occasionally occur. Klicktic